Liberty, Morality, and Enslavement
  by Len Schwee

Liberty is the fundamental right to live our lives as we choose so long as we do not infringe on the equal rights of others. If an individual never meets his neighbors, he can behave as he wishes. If, however, he lives with a mate, children, or friends, the golden rule applies. It advises that we treat others as we would have them treat us. The rules are that simple.

Since there are so many of us, we use walls to separate our neighbors from ourselves. Walls provide privacy which makes liberty practical.

A hundred years ago, a family of ten lived in a small, two-bedroom house with very little privacy. Today, parents and children enjoy much more privacy and freedom than their grandparents had. Children have their own bedrooms, their own phones, radios, and TVs. Growing up, children change lifestyles and friends often, and young adults live very fluid lives. Wise young adults choose a mate carefully because of the long commitment required to raise children. The trend is for intelligent adults to marry at an older age than their parents did.

Civil laws are in place to ensure that we respect the liberty of others. But a search warrant is required before our privacy can be violated. Civil laws are constantly being refined so there is a good balance between our liberty and the necessary respect for the liberty of others.

However, there are plenty of religions around that claim the right and authority to regulate our most private acts. Fortunately, our founding fathers were careful to demand the separation of church and state so religions have no power to enforce their opinions. When church and state were not separate 370 years ago, the pope called the Copernican theory, which Galileo espoused, perverse and contrary to holy scripture. Galileo was threatened with torture on the rack, punished, and forced to submit to the church's erroneous views. But Galileo's peers knew he was correct. This shows how wrong, mean, and self-righteous a holy religion can be.

Many have been led to believe that religion is necessary for morality. This is false. Religion and morality are two separate things. Many atheists live virtuous lives because they figure that they have only one life to live and they want to live it fully, and ethically.

Albert Einstein said, "I do not believe in the immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern with no superhuman authority behind it."

Many religions make a mockery of liberty. Nevertheless, a great number of people are willing to submit to a religion that they did not even choose. Their parents chose it. And their parents practiced it because their parents practiced it, and on, and on. Most likely, some distant, amorous relative reluctantly tolerated the beliefs of his or her new spouse, and the offspring became enslaved for years or centuries as a consequence. The enslaved are then witless enough to support their denomination with their hard-earned money. Very successful brainwashing of the masses enables this slavery to flourish.

We citizens have the opportunity to enjoy liberty fully. But, sadly, too many continue to submit to a repressive, unnatural, and sometimes unethical morality based on myth and superstition.

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